Stan Muncy

Pre-College
  • Chamber Music
  • Percussion
Continuing Education
  • Percussion
Stan Muncy headshot

Contact

Departments

Pre-College
Continuing Education

Instruments Taught

Percussion

Ensembles

San Francisco Symphony

Skywalker Studios

Santa Rosa Symphony

Education

PSC, Colburn

MM, San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Atwater, CA

What is your favorite recording? Why?

SF Symphony/MTT's recording of Copland's Appalachian Spring

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Backpacking, Camping, Family Time

Who were your major teachers?

Jack Van Geem, Artie Storch, Trey Wyatt

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

Let musicality inform your technique. In other words, build the technique needed to say what you want to say.

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

I wish students would feel brave enough early on to have an opinion on how the music should be played.

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

No one moment, just a lifelong love of music, in particular the piano (even though I'm a percussionist).

What was a turning point in your career?

Having unlimited practice time without financial constraints (part-time jobs) while studying at the Colburn School which provided housing, food, and free tuition.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Working in Math or Science. I'm even doing some coding work now.

What is your daily practice routine?

Mostly warmups with some focus on the weekly music for SF Symphony concerts. Importantly, just a little each day means big gains.

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Stravinsky, Bach, Copland

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you, and why?

Los Angeles in the 1970's-present for all the amazing film music of our current day.

What is your unrealized project?

An electronic/percussion duo addressing the climate crisis.

What do you think makes a concert experience unique?

Bringing your own voice, with sincerity, and throwing in surprises here and there.

Please list your most important collaborations.

Playing as percussionist with Eighth Blackbird for one of their tours, Recording Copland's Third Symphony with San Francisco Symphony, Playing any percussion ensemble music with brilliant colleagues.

What recordings can we hear you on? Other Media?

Copland's 'Symphony No. 3' SFSMedia,

Lou Harrison's 'Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra' SFSMedia,

Facing West Choral Music of Conrad Susa and David Conte DELOS,

Music of Lawrence Dillon NAXOS

Biography

Stan Muncy is a regular extra with the San Francisco Symphony, a former member of the Santa Rosa Symphony, and was acting percussionist/assistant timpanist with the Honolulu Symphony. His recording credits extend to the NAXOS classical label and many film and video game scores recorded at Warner Brothers Studios, Capitol Records, and Skywalker Sound. He has recorded with the San Francisco Symphony for Harrison's Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra, Varese's Ameriques, Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette, Ives' Symphony No. 4, and Copland's Symphony No. 3. He also enjoys performing new music with SF Contemporary Music Players and having toured with four-time Grammy-winning new music sextet eighth blackbird.

Accepting beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.

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